Women of the World Festival

Liv and Rushka have just spent the weekend at the The Southbank Centre in London, taking part in the Women of the World Festival! It was a total honour to be asked to get involved - we were helping out with the Zines event, run by London-based female arts collective Storm In A Teacup (check out their blog to see what they get up to!).

The whole event was really well organised; our area had a live music stage curated by Emmy The Great, tables strewn with paper, scissors, a typewriter, a badge-making machine (!) and other materials for those wandering in to make up their own zines (run by creative collective Soupa), and a long shelf with everyone's zine collections on display for visitors to have a browse.

(Photo by Reena from Nest)
A few of us also gave talks about the zine-related projects we run, which was both terrifying and also a lot of fun. We spoke about Shebang and talked about how we came to get into zine culture and all that it has to offer. Our Powerpoint that we'd prepped the day before wasn't compatible with the laptop being used so we kind of had to wing it, but luckily made it through without forgetting too much! There were also really insightful talks from Reena and Anna from Nest, and Ellie and Bex from VV Collective who all do great things to help promote female artists.

(Photo by Clare from Soupa)

We also had a good chat with Katie from Fat Quarter zine, a female-friendly mag bursting with interviews, reviews and features to inspire and entertain. Definitely a new favourite!

As with all zine events, it's great to meet other collectives and zinesters face-to-face to chat about what everyone gets up to and to share tips and encouragement. We also met tons of cool girls with an interest in zines but who weren't sure how to get more involved with the zine scene or how to get started, so hopefully even more new reads will start springing up as a result! The weekend was a huge success and I'm sure the Teacups will return next year to spread some more ziney joy.

Oxford Zine Fair - Saturday 9th April

Unfortunately we're not able to make it, but there's a very special zine fair coming up in Oxford on the 9th April which celebrates all things DIY in the music community. The event is part of the city's 'Editions of You' festival, focused on giving musicians and music fans a chance to show off their handmade releases and zines.

They say: "Editions of You celebrates and showcases self-publishing and self-releasing musicians and the handmade editions and releases they create. Taking the form of an exhibition, zine fair, live music events, talks and happenings, Editions of You at the O3 Gallery and Oxford Castle seeks to unearth the underground culture of DIY artistry that combines music with artwork."

More details can be found here, and if you have a zine and want to get involved, you can contact Ellis at ellisjones(at)gmail.com.

Shebang zine talk at Women of the World Festival

Hi fans and followers,

We're pleased to announce that we've been asked by the wonderful Storm In A Teacup collective to give a talk on zines at the Southbank Centre on the 12th and 13th March, as part of the Women of the World Festival.



Taking place in the Royal Festival Hall from midday 'til 4pm, Storm In A Teacup will have their own area for zine workshops and talks (from us and Fat Quarter Magazine), as well as practical zine making to contribute towards the first Women of the World zine. If you would like to submit a contribution like an illustration or piece of writing to the WOW zine please email : storminateacupzine@gmail.com. We'll be giving a brief overview on the history of the photocopied word, as well as tips on how to get your own zine started & examples of zines that have inspired us.

The festival will also feature performances from Annie Lennox, Imogen Heap, Annie Nightingale, Sandi Toksvig and more, and will have speakers from across five continents. It brings together amazing stories of triumph, action, challenge and enterprise from girls of 14 to women of 80. Musicians, lawyers, scientists, members of the clergy, journalists, politicians, community activists, gardeners, school girls and coco growers share ideas for change in a weekend that climaxes with the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day. Women's organisations of every persuasion are represented in a great weekend of fierce debate and fantastic fun. Plus market activities, speed mentoring and networking opportunities.

Speakers include Shami Chakrabarti, Marin Alsop, Helena Kennedy QC, Kay Mellor, Caroline Lucas MP, Kate Mosse, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Kat Banyard, Juliet Stevenson, Bianca Jagger, Barb Jungr, Kate Mosse, Rosie Boycott, Joanna Trollope, and Dr Precious Lunga.

Facebook EVENT / Ticket LINK

New Music Blog!

This is totally shameless to plug here, but here goes!



I've decided to bring my old music blog back to life, so if you'd like to read more about the kinds of bands we feature in Shebang then please follow dress up to mess up.

In Shebang news, the content is now in! Lynsey is working her magic this afternoon and over the next few weeks and if all goes to plan with the printers, the issue will be out on the 30th March. Thanks again to all of you who have pre-ordered - you can still order the issue for the tiny price of £3 here (drop me a line if you're not based in the UK and we can cut you a deal, Del Boy style).

Liv xo

Issue #3 Update:

So things are finally on the move with Issue #3 - most of the content and illustrations are now in, and Lynsey is sorting out all of the layouts as I type. We're really hoping it'll be finished in time for the Eagle Legs' London launch party on the 30th March (more details on that soon!).

Here's Zoe Austin's awesome collage for the Mixtape Exchange feature:



We've also set up a preorder option on the SHEBANG SHOP so you can be the first to get the new issue for a mere £3 (applies to UK only - overseas readers please email us at mail@shebang-mag.co.uk to sort out a deal). Just click HERE

XO

Brighton Zine Fest - 19th to 20th February 2011

Can you believe it's been almost a year since the last Brighton Zine Fest? The event saw zinesters from all over the place coming together for a weekend of music, workshops, and - of course - the somewhat legendary zine fayre!



Last years's fayre

Judging by the events and funtimes planned for this year's event, the BZF continues to be an important date on any zinesters calendar, thanks to the fantastic organisers who put every effort into making the weekend as interesting and varied as possible.

We've decided to let someone else take our table space this year, as Issue 3 won't be back from the printers in time and we feel a bit guilty turning up with the same two issue's we've had the last two years. But we'll definitely be jumping on the train and heading back to our homeland for the weekend to have a peek at what other ziney folk have been up to over the past year.

DIY Day takes place on Saturday at the Cowley Club, and is a great opportunity to meet others to trade, eat cake, take part in workshops and listen to talks, finishing with a benefit gig at the same venue in the evening.

Sunday is fayre day, as the Hanover Community Centre is set upon by paper & scissors lovers, ready to show off their wares and grab some papery goodness to take home.

We really can't recommend Brighton Zine Fest enough - we've met some great zine buddies there and always have an awesome time.

For more info, visit the BRIGHTON ZINEFEST HOMEPAGE or join the FACEBOOK PAGE

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Hi everyone,

Hope 2011 has been treating you well so far. We've spent most of it in PJs watching Mad Men, so it looks as though things are off to a good start! Just to let you all know that the content for issue #3 is now completed, and Lynsey is currently working hard on the layouts. We are launching the issue at our new Eagle Legs club night at the Macbeth on the 30th MARCH (was originally on the 16th Feb but they double booked). More on that later, but for now we'll be cutting out London EL teeth at this beauty on Saturday night-



Lots of love to you all!

Shebang xo